A panoramic of the Brooklyn Bridge, Lower Manhattan and Jane’s Carousel in Empire Fulton Ferry Park that edges the East River. I snapped this shot from a new vantage point atop a terrace of the Empire Stores.

A Facebook friend and Instagram follower from France asks: “Tell me, what would you say to a beginner in photography? Do you have any advice to share?” My short answer: put your camera down until you start to develop a strong eye for photography.

This year was different. I’m lured to Central Park each autumn and in recent years I’ve walked across her 843 acres shooting photos and videos for many hours on multiple weekends in October and November.

Gone are the roses, tulips, dahlias in full bloom and bees hunting for pollen. In are the oaks, maples and sweetgum brandishing multicolored leaves and the fallen among them, some afloat or sunk in lakes, ponds and pools across Old Westbury Gardens on Long Island.

Act fast and shoot continuously. Wise words from a photographer offering tips on how to discreetly shoot an outdoor marriage proposal. I watched his YouTube video the day before I was to capture a young man, Matt, ask for the hand of his would-be fiancé, Nicole.

Stately Christmas trees and decorations appear in neighborhoods throughout Manhattan. Here I feature the holiday spirit in bright lights and colors at Fulton Street in the South Street Seaport area, the New York Stock Exchange, Avenue of Americas and 50th Street and, of course, Rockefeller Center. Merry Christmas!

While Samuel Untermyer (1858–1940) amassed a fortune as a corporate attorney, he also cultivated a wealth of knowledge about horticulture and created nationally recognized gardens at his 150-acre Greystone estate in Yonkers, New York. Today, it is in need of assistance.

Far from the buzz and bustle of Midtown are the northern sections of Central Park, where fewer travelers and comparative quiet are the norms. But like their central and southern cousins, the park’s upper reaches are a mix of the landscaped and the raw and rugged, perhaps more so than any other area.

What I noticed first about the equestrian monument to Joan of Arc on Manhattan’s West Side, as I approached from a pedestrian path in the small park named for the French patriot, is that she and her horse were not noticeable.